


growth

by kogaritsu



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, references are VERY vague but are there regardless so i wanted to be safe and tag em, third years!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 17:34:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18921793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kogaritsu/pseuds/kogaritsu
Summary: Ritsu was oddly cooperative, staying upright the entire time and even taking initiative to change without being prodded. His newfound motivation wasn’t all that new; their third year brought lots of new things, including a sense of independence for Ritsu. It was simultaneously refreshing and disappointing, as Koga kind of liked being relied on and needed. He still folded up Ritsu’s school clothes, though. Some things would likely never change; how delighted they both were by that knowledge was unspoken between them.





	growth

**Author's Note:**

> this has been done in my google drive for like a week sldkfj;slefk

“Corgi,” Ritsu’s voice took on the needy, whining tone it always took on when he wanted something, “I’m so sleepy…”

He yawned then, eyelids heavy and mouth pulled into something between a frown and a pout, purposefully steering his bike to hit Koga in the knee. His shoes shuffled against the pavement, pace slowing to a stroll as he played up how sleepy he was getting. Koga wrinkled up his nose and narrowed his eyes at a tree far ahead in their walk home, sighing heavily. After some deliberation, his hands replaced Ritsu’s on the handlebars. Suspiciously, as soon as he was freed of his responsibility, Ritsu looped around to walk beside Koga. He linked their arms like they were skipping down the yellow brick road. They made it another block before he was requesting a piggyback ride too.

“Please, I’m so tired and my legs hurt _sooo_ bad,” One glance at Koga’s face showed that his pleading wasn’t enough, “C’mon, Koga-kun, you’re strong. You can do it.”

“Usin’ my name now? Y’must really be tired, then.” Koga thought about it, more or less pulling Ritsu along by then.

“Hmmmmm,” Ritsu nuzzled against his bicep, eyes completely shut, “Kogi…”

“God, fine.” Koga stopped to take off his school bag and hang it from the handlebars of Ritsu’s bike. 

The enthusiasm with which Ritsu hopped onto his back showed his true colors, but Koga didn’t really mind it. It wasn’t like he was heavy, so carrying him wasn’t a burden nor was it all that hard. Plus it was really cute when Ritsu hummed happily and snuggled up against the back of his neck, so really Koga was benefitting. Since he wasn’t nearly as tired as he was pretending to be, Ritsu was fine holding himself up, so Koga was free to continue walking his bike along the sidewalk. The autumn breeze kicked up leaves and rattled the trees, providing background noise to join Ritsu’s quiet breaths against Koga’s neck. The rest of their walk was short and uneventful, ending at the front door of the Sakuma residence.

“The code still the same, Ritchii?” Koga pushed up the outer case to the front door keypad, tapping his fingers against the keys.

“Mhmm.” Ritsu at least sounded half asleep now, so Koga keyed in the code, still predictably 0922, and pushed the door open. 

“Let’s getcha to bed, you worked real hard today,” Koga briefly sat Ritsu on the lip before the genkan, kicking off his shoes before kneeling down to remove Ritsu’s too. 

He was helpful, moving his foot to make Koga’s job easier and showing once again that he wasn’t completely incapacitated. Ritsu’s arms hugged around his neck when he was picked back up, face pressed against the warm fabric of his shirt. The walk from the door to Ritsu’s bedroom was a path heavily traveled, so he didn’t even need to count the doors or look for the dent in the wall in between the Sakuma children’s bedroom. He still lifted his foot to touch it as they passed, as if paying homage to the brain damage it obviously caused Rei. Speaking of Rei, his door was ajar, meaning someone had been digging through his things again. He considered telling him once Ritsu was tucked into bed, deciding against it after thinking about it for a moment. It was better to let him focus on idol work. 

“PJs time, Ritchii,” Koga set him on the bedspread, feeling a bit ridiculous when he turned to retrieve said pajamas. 

Ritsu was oddly cooperative, staying upright the entire time and even taking initiative to change without being prodded. His newfound motivation wasn’t all that new; their third year brought lots of new things, including a sense of independence for Ritsu. It was simultaneously refreshing and disappointing, as Koga kind of liked being relied on and needed. He still folded up Ritsu’s school clothes, though. Some things would likely never change; how delighted they both were by that knowledge was unspoken between them. Koga kissed Ritsu’s forehead before walking back to the dresser to put his school clothes away. 

“Do you hafta go let Leon out an’ stuff?” Ritsu sunk into his pillows, eyes droopy and lips pulled into another of his many pouts. 

“Nah, Adonis’ walkin’ an’ babysittin’ him today.” Koga brushed away a stray eyelash upon his return, thumb rubbing the smooth skin under his eye.

“Then can you stay?” Ritsu pressed his face into Koga’s hand, voice syrupy and pleading.

“So damn needy.” Koga pulled away to dig around in the second drawer from the bottom of Ritsu’s bureau, extracting a pair of pajama pants and an old tee shirt of his that’d long since moved to the Sakuma residence. 

Ritsu burrowed into his sheets while Koga changed, leaving ample room for him to join once his pajamas were on. Somewhere in his heart, Koga knew it was poor decision making on his part to indulge Ritsu as often as he did. Part of the indulgence was his own, however, and he felt he deserved a little treat every now and again. On his way to Ritsu’s waiting embrace, he considered that maybe he was just as spoiled as Ritsu was. The way he fit perfectly between the sheets only served as confirmation. Oh well.

“Kiss?” Ritsu wriggled up to touch noses with him.

Koga couldn’t say no to him, so he nodded his head a few times, tipping his chin up to kiss Ritsu chastely. Pawing at the back of Koga’s head, Ritsu only allowed a few seconds of breathing before going back in. His kisses were sleepy and lazy, more dragging of lips and touches of tongues than anything. A year ago Koga would call it gross and wipe his mouth right after, but now he felt more confident giving and receiving affection. And boy did he love to receive it. As much as he hated the constant comparisons made between himself and dogs, Koga had to admit he behaved a bit like an abandoned dog when he and Ritsu had alone time. He couldn’t find it within himself to cover his tracks, though, so he resigned to be Ritsu’s “Corgi” until the end of time. 

“Mmmmm, you’re so good at this,” Ritsu murmured against his lips, deft fingers tugging Koga closer.

If Koga strained his ears, he could hear the other Sakumas in their bedroom. All the time he spent avoiding them taught him that unless they made enough noise to wake the dead, no one would come knocking. It was a relief, honestly, being in the same house as Ritsu’s parents and having no reason to worry about them barging in. His own moms wouldn’t let him leave the door shut if he still lived with them, which was another reason he was so happy to live on his own. He and Ritsu never did anything bad alone in either of their rooms, it was just nice to have the privacy. It did feel a little scandalous to kiss Ritsu under the sheets while his parents were down the hall, but that was irrelevant. There was nothing inappropriate or wrong about Koga kissing his boyfriend in private, and no amount of self doubt would change that. 

“Corgi,” Ritsu rolled onto his back, interlocking their fingers.

“Hm?” Koga shifted to fit against Ritsu again.

“Thank you for staying with me.” A feather-light kiss was pressed to the back of Koga’s hand and he could feel Ritsu smiling, “You’re good at keeping me warm.”

“S’it just my body heat you like?” Koga nuzzled up under Ritsu’s jaw, sleepy and beyond content.

“Nah, not just your body heat. You’re a good pillow, too.” Ritsu lazily pet his hair with his free hand, giggling at Koga’s disgruntled huff against his neck, “You know I love you.”

“Mhmm. Sure you do, Ritchii.” Koga kissed the side of his neck, otherwise boneless with weariness. 

“Just say it back, idiot.” Somehow there was no hostility or annoyance in his voice. Koga supposed it wouldn’t hurt.

“You know I love you too, even when you’re a fuckin’ nuisance.” Ritsu squeezed his hand hard enough to hurt in response, but giggled to himself regardless.

**Author's Note:**

> hmu @corgiritsu haha epic


End file.
